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Colorado School Requirements

Some of the vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) to keep your child healthy are also required by Colorado law for children attending Colorado child care, preschool or school to prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable disease. When we immunize our children against infectious diseases, we give them the opportunity to learn and grow in a healthy environment.

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment provides a letter for parents to let you know which vaccines your child will be required to have in order to attend a center or school in 2014-15. This should have been sent to you by your school or child care. Click here to view the Parents of Children in Colorado Child Cares and Preschools Immunization Requirements letter. Once your child has received his or her required immunizations, make sure you have an immunization record for both your child’s personal health record and for the school which you will provide at registration.

Parents whose children are entering Colorado school can click here to view the Parents of Students in Colorado Schools, Kindergarten through 12th Grades Immunization Requirements letter. For answers to frequently asked questions, college entry requirements, HIPAA and school immunization laws, the Colorado Immunization Manual, and letters in multiple languages, visit the Colorado Immunization Section's School Immunizations page. You can also download the Certificate of Immunization here.

Did you know?Colorado parents can compare immunization rates when choosing a school or licensed child care facility for their child. A new law requires all schools and licensed child care facilities to disclose their immunization and vaccine exemption rates upon request. That means that anyone – including parents! – can simply call and ask for the facility-wide rates. Parents consider a variety of factors when deciding where to send their child for school or child care, and now immunization and exemption rates can be part of that decision.

Why is this important?School communities with higher vaccine exemption rates are more likely to experience an outbreak of vaccine preventable disease (VPD). A VPD outbreak puts all children – including vaccinated children – at a higher risk of contracting the disease. Transparency around school and licensed child care immunization rates is especially critical for the parents of a child who is immunocompromised, too young to be vaccinated, or medically fragile.

How do I know if a facility's immunization rate is high enough?When enough people in a community are vaccinated against a disease, those who are vaccinated can provide a shield of protection for those who cannot be vaccinated or have weaker immune systems. This shield helps reduce the risk that a VPD will enter a community and spread to others. Pregnant women, babies, children and adults with weakened immune systems, children with certain allergies, and the elderly all rely on vaccinated members of their communities to shield them from potentially serious illnesses. This phenomenal shield is known as community immunity. For each disease, depending on how contagious it is, a particular percentage of the population must be vaccinated in order to keep it at bay.